Validation of an instrument in Latin America to measure fear perception of the consequences of a large-scale war (war-effect)

Background: The Russia-Ukraine war brought immediate and delayed socio-economic consequences. In general, the repercussions caused fear all over the world. This study aims to validate an instrument for measuring fear perception caused by the consequences of a large-scale war in Latin American citizens. Methodology: An instrumental study in which 1705 residents of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and other countries were surveyed through a virtual format. A literature search, expert judgment, preliminary (then exploratory and confirmatory) analysis, as well as reliability assessment were carried out. Results: The skewness and kurtosis values of the 13 questions did not exceed the range ± 1.5 and showed significant correlations (>0.30). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index (0.962) and Bartlett's test (19558.5; df=78; p=0.001) had good indicators. The parallel analysis suggested a single factor, which explained 75.59% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis generated an instrument with six items (χ ²=47.33, df=9, p=0.001; RMR=0.010; GFI=0.990; CFI=1.00; TLI=0.990; and RMSEA=0.050), with an overall Cronbach's Alpha=0.949 (95% CI=0.94–0.95). Conclusion: A six-item instrument that measures the perception of fear caused by the consequences of a large-scale war was validated in half a dozen Latin American countries. This short and valid instrument can be administered to a broad population in Latin America.